Method of making a felted and woven fabric



Dec. 23, 1924. 1,520,198

H. w. MERRICK METHOD OF MAKING A FELTED AND WOVEN FABRIC Filed March 2,1922 3mm H-WMERR (an Q I L n 45 being fed into facial contact and unitedto- Patented Dec. 23, 1924.

UNITED STATES.

PATENT omen. 1

nowann w. mmuuox, or CLEVELAND, omo, ASSIGNOR TO THE cLEVE ANp-AKRON Ynae comnmv, or CLEVELAND, OHIO.

METHOD OFING- A'FELTED ANDWN'OVEN FABRIQ,

Application filed March 2, 1922. Serial No. 540,556.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I; HOWARD W. Mansion, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making aFelted and Woven Fabric, of

which the following is a specification.

The primary object ofthis invention is to produce an exceptionally toughand durable felted and woven fabric, in a simple and efficient way, andthe steps taken form a continuous strip or sheet of such fabric woundtightly in a large roll from which strips of any length may be cut andused for many purposes. Thus the roduct is of especial value and utilityin mah and bags for storingand shipping cement, flour and .-othercommodities, being composed of tough textile fibers'woven togther toprovide a liable body capable of withstanding har-(i usageland stronglyresistant to tearing strains and including tough felted fibers appliedas a sheet to one side of said woven fibers and pressed into practicallyinseparable union therewith upon and.

' between the woven fibers to completely fill gether.'- I

"Fig. 2 shows the roll in semi-humid com fibers under bending and closethe interstices and compactly and firmly unite the woven fibers so thatthis woven body will not readily stretch es cially diagonally or on thebias and so t at the felted fibers will not easil crack or peel ordisintegrate andseparate cm the woven and buckling and pull ing strains.

In practicing this method the'first is; to pass a strip 2 of looselywoven fa ric ma I e e of jute, m or other fibers throu h and betweencalen dering'cylinders to'ma e the fabric flat and smooth. v

A thin strip 3 of felted fabric made of jute, hemp or other fibers, suchas a tough manila'paper, is'then united to'one side of.

woven strip 2, see Fig. 1, which is a diagrammatic view showing theseparate strlps dition..

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the pressing and heating of thedamp softened product. I

This, paper strip 3 passes from a roll 4 around and into contact with apaste-applying roller "5 above a paste-pot 6 and ing sacks thence aroundidlersto a relatively large 'with'the wet pasted side of paper strip 3,

which is wrapped around and directly engages the heated surfaceof'cylinder '7. In this way the paper and woven strip travel together,around with the cylinder with the woven fabric-uppermost or on theoutside, and the amount of Heat applied is regulated to only partiallydry this two ply product'or only sufliciently to unite the pliestogether.

The paste used is a very wet paste, [that is it has an excess of water,which penetrates the paper and is absorbed by the woven fibers as thetwo strips pass together around with the dryin cylinder. The steam whichis generate step passes through the woven fabric and a certain per cent,of moisture is retained in the strips say approximately fifty per cent,as this.composite sheet passes around other idlers 11 and is woundtightly in a roll 12 which is enlarged to about twenty inches .indiameter before it is removed for the next step.

The composite ,sheet being only partly dried and the roll being tightlywound furit s not toov dry, for twenty-four hours or longer, dependent uon the amount of dampness resent in t e roll and the grade ork1nd ofibers used, the object being to allow the moisture to impregnate andsoften and reduce the felted fi moist mass and to prevent the sizing oradhesive from becomlng permanently fixed,.

Now assumin that the composite strip is in the desire state orcondition, roll 12 is placed in a calendering machine, such as shown indiagram in Fig. 3, and the damp softened product is subject to a veheavy pressure and heat is also a plie Thus as the treated strip isunwoun from 'roll 12 it passes around. and between a series ers. orpaper to a in this heating difficult to break, crack, peel ordisintegrate.

of. heavy calendering cylinders 14 having pressure regulating meansassociated therewith and including a cylinder 15 heated by steam. Apressure as'high as eighty tons may be applied to the composite strip,first while it is damp and soft and then while it is drying and passingaround the steam heated cylinder and then while dry and passing aroundthe upper cylinders from which it is drawn and wound into a roll 16. Inthis step the pulpous material is pressed into the interstices betweenthe woven fibers and also pressed between the fibers composing thestrands of the woven fabric and the sizing permanently. fixes the fibersin that state of union, making an exceptionally tough'and dependablecomposite sheet which may be used as a covering and in the manufactureof heavy sacks, bags etc. The appearance of this product on one side issimilar to a closely woven piece of cloth, and on the other side it isirregularly checkered and embossed and resembles alfilled woven fabric.It possesses very little if any stretch, is pliable but tough, noteasily penetrated or torn, sheds water readily, and is What I claim, is:

1. A method of making a felted and woven fabric, consisting in unitingwoven and felted strips together with a wet paste; in applying heat andpartially drying the composite strip; in wrapping the partially driedstrip in tight folds to permit the moisture contained therein topermeate the fibers; and in applying pressure and heat until the fibersare intimatelycompressed together. p

2. A method of making a felted and woven fabric, consisting in passingsuperposed felted and woven strips around a heating cylinder subsequentto the application of paste to one of said strips; in retaining a partof the moisture in the strips and winding the moist composite strip in aroll; in permitting the moisture Within the roll to permeatethrough thecomposite strip for a predetermined interval; and finally passing thedamp product through a calendering machine under heavy pressure.

3. A method of making a composite felted and woven fabric, consisting inuniting separate felted and woven strips together with a pastecontaining an excess of water; in applying heat to the pasted strips; inretaining a portion of the moisture within the strips; in winding thedamp strips tightly in a roll; in permitting the roll to stand until themoisture isdistributed and absorbed by the felted fibers; and in passingthe moist strips through a calendering machine under heavy pressure.

4. A method of making a felted and woven fabric consisting in unitingwoven and felted strips facially together by applying paste having anexcess of moisture, in partially drying the united product andsubsequently reducing the felted fibers to a soft and damp state bypermitting the retained moisture to permeate through layers thereof; andthen applying heat and pressure to unite the felted and woven fibersmore intimately together until the feltedfibers are pressed into theinterstices between the woven fibers and upon and into the woven fibersand one side is irregularly checkered and embossed and -resembles afilled woven fabric and the woven side is smoothly flattened. 1

In testimony. whereof, I have signed my name this 31st day of January1922.

HOWARD W. MERRIOK.

